


Time Will Heal All Wounds (Walking Dead Game)

by InfinityofNeonStars



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: OCs - Freeform, Other, Season 1 Episode 2, adrian - Freeform, anyway, because he has a fucking character arc! i know he does!, but i wanted to save travis, but i wrote it, enjoy, honestly this is my least favourite episode as well.............., i got my inspiration for adrian from sayid ngl, if you can, rune - Freeform, so this sucks, sorry i skipped the first episode but i didn't want to write it rip, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-22 02:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12471104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfinityofNeonStars/pseuds/InfinityofNeonStars
Summary: Rune and Adrian are in Telltale's Walking Dead universe. Things go different than originally.





	1. How Did This Happen?

I used to be a good kid. I used to get all A's and love my parents. Now my parents are dead and I had to kill my math teacher. The moment I had to shove a pen through my teacher's eye was the moment I had to start a new life. My parents were already gone by this time, so I guess it wasn't my first kill, but perhaps my first live-kill. What was I supposed to do? He was bitten.

That was three months ago anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter where you've been, just where you're going. Except, I don't know where I'm going. I've seen every zombie movie made but what the hell am I supposed to follow? Stick to a group, or alone? Safety in numbers, or trust no one? I haven't seen anyone so I guess alone is what I go with. 

It was a loud bang that drew me out of these thoughts. I held my crowbar tightly in one hand and a makeshift wooden shield in my left hand. I scoped around me, looking for the source. Not seeing anything, I stuck my back to a building, still searching everywhere, still seeing nothing. I slid to the corner of the building, jumping in front of the alleyway. Inside a dumpster was what looked like a human. They were facing the other way. 

I snuck up closer, doing my best to stay quiet. As they started to turn, I wrapped my crowbar tightly against their neck, under their adams apple. Oh, yes, this was a male, and a live one at that. I had pressed my makeshift shield against their back.

"Don't scream. I will kill you. Do you understand? Nod." My voice croaked from not being used in nearly 3 months. I felt, more than saw, the man's head nod. "Good boy. Now, I'm gonna release my grip on your neck a bit and you're going to tell me your name. That's all. Understand?" Another nod. I eased my grip slightly, giving him room to talk.

"Adrian." His voice was low.

"Hello, Adrian. Are you alone?"

"You're here, aren't you?"

I pulled the crowbar tight against his throat again, pulling my body against the wall as best as I could with him still in the dumpster. It was completely cleaned out of trash, containing a few cans of food, water, and a blanket and pillow. Sleeping in a dumpster.. That was, almost smart. Who would think to look there?

"Adrian, you don't know me. You do know about the things going on in the world though, don't you? Yes, you do. You also know everyone, everyone, has done bad, bad things. I've killed people. I'm sure you have too, haven't you? Yes. I know you have. Understand that I'm the one in control here, and you're at my mercy. Don't be a smartass. Now, are you alone?"

He nodded, putting his hands at the crowbar, trying to pull it off a bit. "Alone. Not for long. They're coming. Not people-" I had been pressing my body against his to keep the shield up while my left hand sought my rope tied around my belt.

"Put your hands behind you. Hold onto the dumpster side." Oh, I wasn't stupid. I could hear the moans getting closer. I lightly looped the rope through itself around one of his hands, switched my hands holding the crowbar, and lightly looped the other. "I'm going to pull my crowbar off, Adrian. I'm going to tie you up. We're going to get in the dumpster, and wait out the herd. For both of our sake, let me do this." He nodded. 

I pulled my crowbar back, laying it on the dumpster. I tied his hands tightly together behind his back. He sat back in the dumpster, and I climbed in, closing the top over it. I sat back and felt warmth on my neck.

"They lock. On all sides and the front." His voice was a whisper, hot in my ear. I held my crowbar harder, sliding my hand around, feeling for the locks. After locking them, I sat back again. I hated to admit that I had gotten tingles from him behind so close to me--but there wasn't anymore room. We were pressed arm to arm. I turned my head, barely able to see in the dark.

"Adrian." My voice sounded small. Not afraid, just small. I never did know how to whisper. Just whimper. 

"What's your name?"

I popped my neck, listening to the moaning get louder. I closed my eyes for a second, wondering whether to tell the truth. I didn't see why not, but I didn't want to give away any information if I didn't have to. The less people know, the better, right? I opened my eyes and pushed a hand through my hair. 

"Guess."

"Your name is Guess?"

I glared at him. "Guess my name."

He smirked, and I hated him at that moment. Before all of this, I was a nice person. I got along with everyone. I may have even been attracted to him, before Zed Day. I mean, he was pretty. Curly black hair, dark skin, a lovely accent, even when whispering. I couldn't quite place it. He had stubble, but no real beard. I wondered how he had been shaving. 

"Parker."

"Scavenged the bag, but good try, trying to either freak me out or make me think you're useful."

"Adrian Naveen. Born in Tikrit. Iraq, that is. Born April 17th, 1999. Former swimmer."

"Fine." I sighed. "You can call me Rune."

"Rune?" 

"Runnissera. My parents were 90% drugs and 10% hippy."

"And they didn't name you Sunshine? Or River? Where the hell did they come up with Runnissera?"

"I think they lived in New York at the time. I'll bind your mouth next if you don't be quiet."

"Kinky."

"You should sleep, Naveen. They're getting closer. We're going to leave when they pass." 

He didn't reply. Just sat back, and closed his eyes. I yawned and attempted to stay awake, but dozed off. When I opened my eyes next, I felt something in my lap. When I looked down, I saw Adrian had somehow gotten his head there, using me as a pillow, both hands underneath him, no longer bound. 

I listened for a minute before moving and heard nothing outside. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I pushed him gently forward, looking out of a crack in the dumpster. Everything looked empty, so I shook Adrian awake. He pushed his hands through his hair and squeezed his eyes closed, burrowing his face into my lap further. I smacked his shoulder and was glad it was dark, because I was definitely blushing. 

He opened his eyes and seemed to realized he was laying on lap. He jumped up and turned red as well, which I had to smirk at myself about. He rubbed his eyes and muttered a soft "sorry" before stretching. Watching his rub his eyes made me realize my rope was gone. Just as I opened my mouth to ask what he had done with it and how, he put one finger up to stop me.

"Former swimmer... and street magician." He reached behind him and dropped the rope in my lap. "Maybe next time I'll get to tie you up."

"Stop flirting. It's about to hit dawn, you should start packing your things. We're getting out of here."

"Excuse me? What if I don't want to leave?"

"You're useful, and there's safety in numbers. Unless you want to die, that is."

"Fine. What's your plan?"

I looked up at the dumpster top. "Staying in one place for too long is dangerous. We keep going. We keep looking."

"Looking for what?"

"I guess we'll figure it out when we find it."

An hour later, just as the sun was coming up over the horizon, we were out of the dumpster and walking past buildings broken and beaten down. The walk was silent--it was safer that way--though, just as we reached the edge of town, Adrian stopped me. 

"Just a minute. Keep look out." Before I could protest, he ran inside a house that looked fairly alright, with only a window broken on the top floor. I waited for 20 minutes before knocking on the front door. When there was no answer, I let myself in. It felt weird, but I needed to make sure Adrian was okay.

I pressed my back against the wall after closing the door, keeping my crowbar ready. "Adrian?" I called out, hoping to hear a reply. When there wasn't one, I walked halfway up the stairs, keeping my back to the wall, trying to keep a lookout all around me. Instead of saying anything, I whistled. 

When there was no reply yet again, I walked the rest of the way up the stairs, looking down the hall on my left. Only one door was open.

"Adrian!" 

This time there was a response. Adrian stuck his head out of the open door. "Geez, you scared me half to death. Come on in. I don't bite, but--" there was a snarling behind him. "Well, she might."

I stood in the doorway as Adrian stood in front of a bed with a girl heavily tied down to it. She was decayed, a nasty bite on her thigh. She was biting at Adrian, struggling to break free.

"Sarina. Little sister by a year and three days. I wanted to say goodbye. She was always so.." he smiled down at her. "Brave." He held up a book in his right hand, still looking down at her. "Her diary. Lots of pictures. I wanted this. I also thought maybe you might want some of her clothes? You don't look like you've changed in the three months this has been going on and you're the same size." He looked over at her open closet door and shook his head. "I was wrong though, you'd be better off with my stuff. It's going to get cold. Come on."

He stepped past me and opened another door. I followed him inside. He threw a red flannel on the bed and looked at me. "Pant size?"

I shook my head. "Your sister's." He walked passed me again, across the hall to his sisters room. I took off my dirty shirt and was in the process of putting on the flannel when he walked back in, holding a few different pairs of jeans. He looked away, holding the jeans out towards me.

"Get over it. It's a body."

"A naked one."

"I'm not naked!"

"Nearly!"

"Whatever!" I took a pair of black jeans from him. I wasn't shy and never had been, so I undid my belt and slipped my jeans off, putting on the fresh ones. They fit me like skinny jeans. After a change of shoes and a quick search of the pantry, we were off yet again.

"Adrian, do you hear that?" I asked, looking over at him.

"I hear.. Was that someone screaming?" He looked up at me, taking his eyes away from his hands. 

"AAAAAAAAAHG!"

I stood up, bag already around my shoulders, crowbar ready in my hand. I ran off towards the sound, Adrian close behind. There was one more scream before we reached a small clearing in the woods we were in. There were two teens our age in blue school hoodies standing around someone on the ground, looking frightened. Seconds after we arrived, so did two other people, coming from the opposite way.

The taller kid looked behind us and the other two that had run up. "Oh shit! No, no! Please don't kill us! We just want to help our teacher! We'll leave, I swear!"

A third man ran from the left, addressing the two men who had just arrived. "Lee! You guys okay?"

I ran towards the man on the ground, examining what was wrong. It looked like his foot had been trapped, and there was no release on the trap. "Honey, what's your name? Look at me. Focus on me, trust me. Tell me your name."

"David! My name is David!"

"Alright David, listen here. I'm Rune, and we're gonna get you out of this, but you have to stop screaming. I know it hurts, but you have to stay quiet or it'll draw walkers. Okay?"

Adrian had knelt down on the other side of David. "Listen, breathe with me. Breathe in, one, two, three, four, breathe out, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Let's keep doing it, come on. One, two-"

The taller kid spoke to his friend. "Travis! Maybe they can help us!" 

"These guys might be ones that raided our camp! And we barely got away from that!"

I looked up at the people who had come running out of the woods. "There's no release latch." After I said this, I heard moaning behind us. I looked at Adrian and twitched my right eye twice. Behind you. He nodded and got up. "David, keep breathing. You're going to be okay. One, two, three-"

Travis turned around, noticing what Adrian and I had already noticed. "Oh no-" there were way too many walkers for just Adrian to get, even if I helped, even if everyone helped. I looked up at the guy with the ax. His friend said what I was thinking.

"Shit, walkers! It's now or never, Lee!"

"Please! Get me out of this!" 

I took David's hand in mine and felt him squeeze. It hurt, and it was about to hurt a hell of a lot more. "David, keep eye contact with me. Keep breathing. Come on."

"I'm gonna have to cut you out." With guns firing off and Adrian trying to keep walkers back, these words seemed so simple, so small, like it was nothing, like it was something that had to happen because if it didn't, the universe itself would fall apart.

"No no no-" David started panicking and I removed my hand from his and shoved a line of my rope between his teeth. He tried to spit it out but I held it in. 

"You want to live David, you want to keep this in your mouth!" I held his chest down with both hands, hoping it'd help Lee make a clean cut.

Lee swung, and boy, did he hit. Blood gushed up and hit me everywhere. I tasted it in my mouth. David jumped, and I put more weight on him. The rope was bitten tight between his teeth as he screamed. He swung a second time, not quite making it all the way through. David jumped again. This time, I put all my weight on him.

"David, you're brave, come on, we're almost there, you're going to be okay." He swung a third, fourth time. David was free and completely passed out. I hope it didn't hurt as much while he was passed out. 

"If he's alive, grab him and let's go!"

One of the guys pulled him over his shoulders and started running. I grabbed my crowbar and rope and jumped up to follow, when I saw Travis about to be attacked.

"Move!" I ran towards him, crowbar ready. He fell on his ass and I slammed my crowbar through the zombie's head. Adrian pulled Travis up as we ran to catch up with everyone else.

"Open the gates! We've got wounded!"

There was a lot of talking as the man carrying him put David on a truck bed. A woman started doing what she could immediately while it seemed like everyone argued. I opened my bag and grabbed a loose rag inside, pushing it against David's forehead. I kept talking to him, or myself, I wasn't sure. Behind me I heard solid arguments. 

"Lee. Lee!" A woman yelled. I kept looking at David. "What the hell!? You can't just be bringing new people here! What are you thinking!?"

"Hey, you wanna calm down for a fuckin' minute?"

"No, I don't!"

"I thought we could save his life," Lee finally said. "I'm the one that took his leg! That makes me responsible."

"Well, that was a stupid thing to do!" 

"We are not responsible for every struggling survivor we come across! We have to focus on OUR group! Right here. Right now."

"Come on Lilly, these are people! People trying to survive just like us! We've got to stick together to survive."

"The only reason you're here is because you had food. Enough for ALL of us. But that food is almost gone. We've got maybe a week's worth left and I don't suppose you guys are carrying any groceries, are you?"

"We have food-" Adrian started to say, while I shot him a look.

"And if you refuse to help this man, we'll keep it to ourselves and the two that came with him," I finished off, slamming my hand down in my bag. I undid the sack around my bag, pulling out five cans of food and three apples, along with crackers and a granola bar. "We have way more than this, but I'm not sure you can say the same. So I suggest you cut the shit, and help this guy out."

Lilly stepped towards me. "And who are you? We can't trust you! You're just a fucking kid for christs sake!"

I took my left hand off of David's forehead and stood up all the way. "I'm the fuckin' kid that's gonna do a better job of feeding your group than you can if you'll shut the fuck up and help this man!" 

An older man stepped towards us, redder than hell itself. "Watch your fuckin' mouth!"

"ALL of you stop," Adrian spoke up. Lilly was so close to my face I could feel the heat of her anger on it. "You can help this man. We can help you. We'll be saving each other."

"The kid's right, Lilly." She looked over at Lee, and took a step back, relaxing a bit.

"Take the damn food. There should be more than enough in that sack alone for everyone here. Adrian and I can leave tonight for the rest of it." I stepped back towards David, the blonde woman already working on his leg. I kept wiping off his forehead. He had a fever, because it was cold even in a flannel and a hoodie.

"Miss? Do you think we could take his jacket off? He's got a fever and he's sweating badly."

She looked up. "My name is Katjaa. Here, I'll hold his leg down while you take it off."

After getting the hoodie off, with the help of Travis, I noticed Adrian and the tall kid sitting with a little girl and boy. Travis wanted to stay with David. So did I. I always felt like I had to help everyone. 

"I'm Rune. The guy with me is Adrian. And you're Travis, right?"

"Yes. This is my teacher, Mr. Parker. My friend is Ben."

"Rune, would you mind getting some water? Kenny should be able to help you. He's on the other side of the RV." Katjaa worked harder on David's leg. I didn't feel right about leaving but agreed to anyways.

I approached the other side of the RV to find the guy that kept talking to Lee earlier. "Are you Kenny?"

"Sure am. You need something?"

"Katjaa sent me to you to get some water."

"Sure. Come with me into the RV. Just for a sec, it'll take a minute to fill the bucket up."

I nodded and followed him in.

"What's your name?"

"Rune."

"Do you really have as much food as you say you do, Rune?"

"Yes. We're good scavengers, Adrian and I. This town is kind of ransacked, though. It's really ballsy, you guys staying here for so long. We constantly stay on the move. It's safer. At least, it has been for us."

The bucket was nearly filled. Kenny turned off the water and turned around to face me. "That's how I feel about it. How would you feel about getting your food and your friend to come with me and my family to get out of here when I get the RV working?"

I looked around at the RV. It wasn't really a bad size. "I'm not leaving the ones we found in the woods."

"Bring them too, if they want to come."

"Alright. Sounds good to me. I know it will to Adrian, too."

"Sounds like a plan." He handed me the bucket of water and I exited the RV, heading back over to Katjaa. By the time I was rounding the side of the RV, I heard Katjaa calling.

"Rune, Lee. Come here please." I knew what she was going to say before she said it. I looked at the truck bed and set down the bucket of water. "He.. lost too much blood."

"God dammit!" I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't. I wanted to. I didn't want to be angry but this felt like a huge loss. It felt earth shattering.

"That man you brought.. I tried, but he was never going to survive."

"Well, at least he's not our problem anymore." I looked up at Lee after he said this.

"Not our problem? He's dead. He-" there was a groaning before I could finish. "Katjaa!" I shoved her aside as an undead David tried to grab her. He caught me by my shoulders and pulled me towards him, trying to bite me. Lee got between us and pushed against him, trying to separate us. Once I was free, Lee was trapped. 

I hit my head hard on the ground and my vision blurred. I heard screaming and shuffling but I couldn't make anything out but blurs. I tried to stand up, to grab my crowbar, to help Lee, but I stumbled, dropping it to the ground as I fell to my knees, head against the truck. Everything went black.


	2. Could It Be I'm Haunted?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> S1E2 (complete)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I haven't had any views but that's alright! Just means I don't have any criticism yet either, so this might suck. Be sure to leave some sort of feedback, whether you enjoy it or can't get through it because it's so horrible! :P Let me know what to fix.  
> xx

My head was pounding. I tried to move my hands towards my forehead, but found that I couldn't move them. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, realizing I was in one of the hotel rooms. It was dark inside, with curtains covering the windows. I looked around and saw that no one was there, and that my hands and legs were tied to the bed. On the nightstand on my left was a gun.

Outside, I heard bells ringing. It was faint, but I could hear it. It was dead silent for a second.

"Shit, where'd this string come from?"

"Watch where you're walking, man." 

It sounded like two men's voices that I hadn't heard before. I decided to stay silent as I struggled with the ropes. They were tied around the bed frame, and the one on my right wrist felt loose. I picked at it with my hands, feeling the burn against my skin the longer I tried.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, just getting untangled."

My fingers were bleeding the more I struggled to contort them to undo them. My heart was racing. What the hell had happened while I was out? Where was everyone else? I paused and took a deep breath to steady myself. I went back to undoing my rope, my wrists and ankles burning from moving so much. I had been biting my lip so hard it was bleeding. 

"I don't know how you're still alive, man."

I slipped my right hand free, fingers bleeding, and got to work on the rest. When my hands were free, I grabbed the gun and put it beside me as I quickly undid my legs. I slid off the bed towards the wall, gun in hand. Between the door and the window, I moved the curtain gently and looked out.

I saw everyone bent down around the fence, with Kenny about to stand up, gun point outwards. I didn't want him to give everyone away, so I shot out of the door, gun raised where his was pointed. There were two men standing around and I cocked the gun, walking towards them. 

"Don't come any closer." I looked straight ahead at them, seeing Kenny back down as I walked closer, standing at the side of the RV. I could duck behind if needed.

"Whoa, shit! Okay, okay.. No problem."

"What's your purpose? I'm not looking for trouble."

"Of course! Neither are we! I'm Andy St. John. This here's my brother Dan. We're just looking for gasoline. Looks like you got the motel locked down, wh-which is fine, but if you could spare any gas we'd be much obliged."

Lilly stood up. "What do you need gas for?" Idiot. 

"Our place is protected by an electric fence. We need gas to run the generators."

"Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If you'd be willing to lower your gun, we can talk about some kind of trade."

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy."

Lee, Mark, and Kenny had stood up while the two chatted. 

"Lee, why don't you and Mark check the place out, see if it's legit." 

I didn't have a good feeling about this. I looked over at Adrian, still crouching, shaking his head. He felt the same, it seemed. 

Doug spoke up. "I'll go, too. Improve the numbers, in case we see anything dead."

"I'm going," I spoke again, calling the attention of Lilly.

"You are not. You're just a kid."

"I can take care of myself." I walked towards my bag, still on the truck bed.

"So, what are y'all thinking?" One of the brothers asked.

I walked closer to Kenny. "I don't trust you," I said to them. I was hoping Kenny would back me up.

Lee looked skeptical, but spoke up. "We'll go to the dairy." 

With my bag over my shoulders, I put my crowbar in my belt loops. "We'll bring some gas, you give us some food, and we'll go from there."

"Sounds fair. A couple of gallons should power one of our generators for a while."

We walked down a road I previously would have wanted pictures of. It was gorgeous. I trailed behind as everyone chatted up ahead. Something felt really wrong about this, which is why I made Adrian stay back. I heard the yelling before anyone else did, and dipped into the woods.

"You think you're gonna cut me out of this?!"

"No one is tryna cut you out of anything!"

"You and Gary are always fuckin' pulling this shit!"

I debated whether to stalk them afterwards to find where they were going, knowing they were bandits, or whether I should just shoot now. I decided to wait. Besides, if the group went after them, I could help out. The element of surprise. 

"Fuck you!" One of the guys shot the other, reshooting over and over. When he was done, he walked away. I trailed behind him, waiting until he was alone, and until the group was out of sight. 

I wasn't a short girl, and I definitely had muscle from being into weightlifting before all of this and just from being through this. I snuck up behind him, holding my crowbar against his throat, just as I had Adrian.

"I saw you shoot your friend back there." He struggled, but I wasn't stupid, and I had done this several times before. "Not very nice of you, was it?" I held the crowbar tighter. "I could kill you right now. I will kill you, if you don't cooperate. Do you understand?"

"Fuck.. you.." He struggled to get out. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, you're a fan of that phrase. Tell me what you know about the dairy farm."

He tried to laugh and spit on the ground. I kicked the back of his knee, causing him to fall on the ground. "I'll cut out your tongue and wear it on a necklace if you don't start being more respectful."

"Damn, feisty. That's hot." 

"Last chance. Tell me about the dairy."

"They're fucking creepers. You know what they do? They eat p-" an arrow through his head and I ran for a tree as soon as I realized what happened. Arrows were now coming after me. 

"You get back here!" A woman yelled as another arrow flew past me. "You're with those monsters!" I ran back towards the dairy, the woman chasing me the whole way. I ran until I wasn't able to anymore, which is to say I ran into the middle of a group of bandits. Shit. There was nowhere to go, with the woman following me and the bandits in front of me. I froze.

"Who the fuck are you!?" 

"She's mine!" This time, not arrows, but bullets rang out, hitting some of the bandits. I crouched down and tried to run, narrowly missing a bullet aimed at my head. I darted off past the rest of the bandits, not focused on the woman shooting at them. One noticed and called attention to it, making him and two of his friends follow me.

I kept running and saw a clearing, a fence ahead. The guys following me were screaming and shooting at me. As soon as I jumped out of the tree line I knew I had fucked up. There stood Lee and Mark.

"Guys! Get down!"

"What the hell?!"

I stooped behind the tractor, Lee and Mark following the same. "We need to get inside the fence!"

"With the fence turned on, we have to get to the gate."

"Should we make a run for it?"

Mark looked up. "We have to try, don't we?" 

Lee started to protest, but Mark ran before he could say anything. He reached the gate, but as soon as he went to open it, he was shot straight through the shoulder with an arrow. 

"MARK!" He didn't look back as he ran towards the house, holding his shoulder. "Okay, Lee, shit, we can't risk that. We have to move the tractor." We put our hands inbetween metal parts of it, pushing on it, but it wouldn't budge. "We're caught on something, look upfront." While he looked up front, I looked towards the back and realized our problem: we were hooked into the ground. 

I struggled with the lever for a second to release the blades, but it popped up. "Lee, we're good back here." He removed a cinder block and the tractor started to move. We walked behind it as it slowly made it's way to the gate, until it got caught on something again. "Lee?"

"It's one of the dead we pushed down earlier. I'm gonna have to move it." He started pulling at the walker's hands, trying to free it so we could go forward. It took a total of two seconds after we started moving for us to stop again. "Another one! How many did we push down earlier?" He started pulling on the one-armed zombie to get it out of the way when it came back to life.

"Fuck, I thought you said you pushed it down earlier!" I yelled, grabbing my crowbar. It was holding onto him tightly, pulling Lee's arms towards it's mouth so it could bite him. He started kicking at the zombie's head, meanwhile I couldn't do anything because I didn't want to hit Lee in the process. 

After a few kicks, he managed to get his arms away from the zombie's face. I slung my crowbar hard at the zombie's arms, breaking them off. Lee managed a final kick, killing the walker. The arms were still attached, holding tightly to his wrists. He threw them off and tried to pull the body away, but only managed to break it in half. Still, the tractor started moving again. 

The tractor hit a silo, and we made a break for the gate, as quickly as we could. One final arrow blew towards us at high speed, and I felt a tinge in my right leg. The more I ran, the more it hurt. 

"Lee! What's wrong?" One of the brothers yelled as we approached.  
Mark had collapsed just outside the second gate for the house. I got on my knees to look at him. He was face down. "Mark? You there? You're gonna be okay."

"The last person you said that to died," he responded, but his voice was shallow. I figured he was on the verge of passing out.

"Don't move. The arrow has to be taken out. It's not too deep, you're going to be fine. I need to cut your shirt."

"Cut it."

"Bring him inside, why don't you? It's safer in here," a woman standing on the porch said. 

"It's only going to hurt him more if we move him before we get the arrow out. We need to get it out here and then move him." My leg was burning, the more I focused, the less I felt. I dug in my bag and pulled out scissors, bandages, and a bottle of peroxide. "Unless anyone else was a nurse in training?" No one replied while I got to work cutting around the arrow. 

"We got fuckin' ambushed out there!" Lee started in. 

"Bandits? Here? On our property?"

"They were following me. I thought I had lost them but I guess they knew where I was headed," I said, not looking up. I had fully cut through the shirts and had my hand filled with gauze settled next to the arrow. "Mark, I-"

"Followed you? We don't even know you! You could be one of them!" Lee yelled at me.

"Yeah, that's why they were shooting at me and why I'm helping your friend out, right? No, it's always just been Adrian and I. Besides, I'm not the one tying up strangers in beds after they try to help you out, am I?"

"Tying up in beds?" One of the brothers asked.

"She fell and hit her head, we were trying to take care of her. We didn't know if she would turn or not."

"Mark, honey, I'm gonna pull it out now. I need you to take deep breaths and try to relax as much as possible. Ready? One, two-" I pulled it out before I hit three, so that he wouldn't tense up when he heard me say it. I covered the wound with gauze, keeping pressure on it.

"I thought you said on three."

"You were going to tense on three. You're doing well. I need to keep pressure to slow the bleeding, okay?"

"I can stand up, if you can keep pressure on it while we go inside. I don't like lying on the ground."

"Okay, on three."

"Actual three this time?" 

"Yes. One, two, three." When we were fully standing up, I held my palm against the front of shoulder, and the gauze on the wound. I was shaking, however. 

"Hey y'all," I heard a familiar voice say. I turned my head and saw a group of people, but it wasn't everyone. 

"Rune, oh my god! What happened?" Katjaa asked.

"We were ambushed by bandits. Mark got shot in the shoulder. I pulled the arrow out out here but he still needs it cleaned and dressed, and probably stitched."

"What about your leg?"

I grimaced. "Yeah, it hurts, I think I got hit. I was running from them in the woods, I was hoping I just hurt the muscle."

"Rune.." I heard Katjaa say as Mark and I were headed for the porch. Slowly, but surely. "There's an arrow in your leg." I stood up straight. "You shouldn't be walking on it."

"I'm fine. We need to get both of us inside." It hurt worse knowing there was an arrow in my leg. I wasn't sure if it was just the adrenaline wearing off or if it was knowing I had been hit. When we reached the porch, the woman replaced my hands with hers.

"I've got him honey, why don't you sit on the porch swing over there and patch yourself up?"

"I'll do it," Katjaa said as the woman led Mark inside. I sat on the porch swing as well as I could. The arrow was on my upper leg, so I had to sit on the edge of the seat. "Do you have something I can tie this off with?"

"Here," Lee said, holding out a belt. I was starting to sweat. It was hot out. "Where did you disappear to on the way over here?" He asked as Katjaa tied my leg off. I tightened it as far as I could. 

"I went off after the other bandit when he killed his friend. I was asking him questions when an arrow went through his head and this woman started chasing me." I relayed how I had ran into a group of bandits and been followed by them to the dairy. 

"What were you asking him about?"

I looked around before replying. There was no one close to us. "I don't trust them. The bandit had started to say something before he was shot."

"Say what?"

'They eat something. That's all he got out. 'You know what those fuckers do, right? They eat-' and then pow, an arrow through the head and a woman chasing me."

"What's this about a woman chasing you?"

"I was just telling Lee about what happened. I went after the bandit we saw to ask about a friend of mine his group may have raided and this woman shot him before he could answer. Then she started chasing me and I ran into some of the other bandits."

"Hm.. When you're patched up, you and Lee come find me and we'll go to a camp of theirs. Take them by surprise. That is, if you feel like you can."

Katjaa was securing the bandage around my leg as he said this. "Sure," I said. She looked at me disapprovingly, but didn't say anything. When the bandage was secure, I tried to stand and hissed, sitting back down.

"Maybe you shouldn't go," Lee said.

"I'm going. Let's get out of here. Get, whichever brother it is and let's go." I stood up again, wincing, but biting my tongue. Shit, it hurt. I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulders again, ready to go.

"You ready guys?"

"Sure," I said.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Miss, I don't think I caught your name."

"Sorry, I'm Rune."

"Andy. Is Rune short for something?"

I nodded as we walked. "Runnissera."

"That's a very pretty name." I started to reply but he shushed me. "I know it's around here. We gotta be getting close." Lee bent down an examined an empty can of food. We turned a corner in the trail and found an arrow lying on the ground.

"Here," he said.

"Oh shit, you found it?!" 

Lee shushed him and edged us forward into the camp. There didn't seem to be anyone there. 

"Stay on your guard."

I kept darting my eyes around as Lee and Andy looked around. I thought I saw something moving, but the wind was blowing, so I wasn't sure. Instead of saying anything, I dipped back into the woods, trying to stay out of sight as I rounded where I thought I had seen the moving. It didn't take long to see the woman laying on the small hill's slope, crossbow at her side. She was watching the camp and talking to herself.

"Where did she go.. She's mine, they're fucking savages. I have to find her.." I hid out of sight behind her as she watched the camp. My hands went for my pistol, and I kept it aimed at the back of her head. I didn't want to out myself if I didn't have to.

In the camp, Lee bent down in the tent, pulling out a hat. The woman jumped up and ran at them, holding her crossbow pointed at Lee's head. I stayed where I was, waiting to sneak up. I could make the shot if I needed to, it wasn't that far away.. but I hoped I didn't need to.

"Don't you fucking move."

"Shit!" Andy pointed his gun at her.

"Put the guns down. I ain't going back. You tell 'em Jolene ain't going back!"

Andy piped up. "Hey, we had a deal! No shooting as long as we gave you food. What the fuck happened?"

"You had a deal with THEM. I ain't them! I know you. I know what you are, and I know what you do." 

I snuck up behind her. Lee saw me and I put a finger to my lips, aiming my gun at her head. I shook my head and cleared my throat to get her attention. She snapped her head around before her body, and in the second it took her to catch on, there was a bullet in her head. 

My eyes widened and I lowered my gun. Lee looked over at Andy and I took a step back. It wasn't that I hadn't seen someone get killed before, it was more that it happened so suddenly. I hadn't prepared for it. I hadn't blocked it out, and now I wouldn't be able to.

"God dammit," Andy said.

"You murdered that woman!" 

"Hardly. She had a crossbow pointed at my head."

I quit listening, turning my head. I walked closer to camp, kneeling next to her. I took her crossbow and checked her pockets for anything she might have. When I finished looking, I realized they were done talking and both staring at me.

"She was a survivor. She may have had something useful. Stuff like that is the difference between living and dying." I looked at Lee. "You've never done it, and guess whose starving and who has three meals a day?" I quit feeling bad about it a long time ago. I had to.

I stood up and brushed off my pants, crossbow slung around my shoulder. It hung awkwardly with my bag, but I wasn't sure I could use it just yet, so I kept my pistol out.

"So that's it? We just go back?" Lee asked, looking between the two of us.

"Yeah. That's it," I said, walking past both of them, leading the way. 

It didn't take long to get back, but the sky darkened considerably. I trailed behind, not listening to their conversation. When we got back to the farm, I stayed to myself while the others talked. I was staring at the sky, taking it in. A storm was on its way, and I had a bad feeling about it.

Brenda mentioned that Katjaa was in the barn, and I walked in. There was a cow, a little girl, a little boy, Kenny, and Katjaa. I looked around and didn't see anyone else.

"Where's Andy's brother? What's his name?"

"Danny," Katjaa said. "He's inside." 

"Rune, could you give me a minute?" Kenny asked, pulling me aside. "There's something weird about these people."

"Definitely. I don't trust them."

"I can't get into the room back there. What are they hiding?" 

I shook my head. The door opened and Lee walked in. He started talking to the little girl, not noticing Kenny and I. I kept looking towards them. "Maybe Lee can get inside? I could keep an eye out."

"That sounds like a good idea. Why don't you have him come over here and keep a look out outside?"

I nodded before walking towards Lee. I tapped him on the shoulder and looked at Kenny. He caught the hint and left. I started to walk out when the little girl put her hand on my arm. I looked at her and smiled.

"Do you.. wanna pet the cow? She's going to have a baby!" 

I was still smiling as I said sure. I went over and petted the cow for a few seconds. 

"My name's Rune, what's yours?"

"I'm Clementine!" 

"Well, Clementine, after dinner we can pet the cow together some more, okay? I have something I have to do right now though. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay!"

"Awesome. See you in a bit, kiddo."

I walked out the barn doors, not doing anything in particular. Andy was outside and I went to talk to him.

"Hey Andy," I said, getting his attention. When we were close enough, I spoke again. "What did she mean, the woman in the woods? 'I know what you are, and I know what you do.' Sounds like a cheesy horror movie line, or a line from Twilight."

"I don't know, nothin' those people do makes any damn sense. She was obviously out of her damned mind."

I nodded. "I don't think I've really met your brother yet. Where is he? I don't feel right eating here without properly knowing him first, yeah?"

"I think he's cookin' right now, darlin'. Why don't you tell me about your group while we wait for dinner?"

"Well, I don't really know anyone. I've just met them."

"You mentioned earlier having food? How'd you get it?"

"My partner and I travel. The most we've stayed in one place is a week. Whatever we can't tale with us we leave in plain sight for the next person who comes along who might need it. We stay until we find just about everything we can find in a place. So, not long. Mostly country places, really. How old are you, Andy?"

"Twenty five. Sounds like you're pretty smart."

"Occasionally. I do what I have to to survive."

"How old are you?"

I hesitated, deciding to make myself older. "Depends on the date. I'm either seventeen or eighteen by now."

"I'd have thought older."

"Thought or hoped?" 

He smiled at me. "You caught me. What you did earlier, searching pockets. Has it really helped you in the long run?" 

I nodded. "There were times, definitely."

"So you'd do anything to survive."

I squinted at him a bit. "What are you asking?"

"Say we didn't want to help the group you're with and after tonight that was the last we saw of them. Would you be interested in staying and helping out the dairy?"

I hesitated again. "It doesn't seem too safe, Andy. Not with the bandits."

"We could get rid of the bandits."

"And the next ones that want to raid your place?"

"You're a good shot."

"I'm about helping people survive. If you shot everyone who couldn't help you, you'd be another group of bandits, don't you think?

"Maybe it's safer that way." 

I shook my head. "Sorry Andy, I don't think so."

"That's too bad," he said, standing back. I hadn't realized how close we had gotten to each other, or that we were whispering. I also hadn't noticed Danny going to the barn. Was Andy's plan to distract me? "Seems like the food must be ready, if Danny's not in there helpin' mama. We best be going inside."

"I wanna talk to Danny before I go in."

He didn't look happy about that. "Suit yourself," he said, before turning around and heading inside. 

I walked back into the barn, shooting Kenny a look. Katjaa, Clem, and the boy were just about to leave. It looked like Kenny and Lee were trying to open the door still, so before Danny could leave to talk to them, I stopped him.

"Danny, right?"

He turned around. "Yes, ma'am."

"I'm Rune. I wanted to talk to you for a minute if that's alright?"

He looked around. "Actually, dinner's ready and we shouldn't keep mama waitin'. It's not polite, you know." He went to turn around and I put my hand on his arm, smiling up at him. Jesus, he was tall.

"Just a minute of your time? You were helping make the food, right? What kind of guest would I be if I didn't thank you?"

"Really now, it's mama you should be thankin'. Why don't you go thank her?"

"I had an interesting chat with Andy before this."

That made him pause. "What about?"

"Oh, you know. He asked if I might want to stay and help out the dairy. Take care of the bandits. Thought I was smart for my age."

"You're how old?"

"Not sure. Dunno the date. Either seventeen or eighteen. I'm betting on eighteen."

"I remember being your age. Why don't we finish this conversation after dinner? You can properly thank me after tasting the food."

I nodded. "Great. Let's go in. Maybe catch a seat next to each other." I looked towards the door. He seemed to have forgotten about Kenny and Lee. We started walking towards the door when he paused and looked back. 

"You go ahead. Save me a seat."

I looked back. "Alright. Don't be long." I hoped I caught Kenny and Lee's attention with the last bit. I was loud as I opened the barn door and walked towards the house.

I wasn't sitting long when Kenny, Lee, and Danny walked in. Danny did sit besides me, with Katjaa on the other side of me. Lee didn't sit down just yet, opting instead to go wash his hands. I hadn't taken a bite of anything yet. It didn't look right. They had one cow, where did they get meat from?

I ate the other things though, they tasted good. There's nothing like a home-cooked meal. My left hand was resting on my seat, and since there were so many of us, that meant that Danny's right hand was sitting next to it, though still on his chair. 

Halfway through the meal, Lee ran inside the room.

"Clementine! Don't eat that!"

She dropped her fork. I looked up at him.

"Lee! What the hell?" Lilly yelled.

Andy kept eating. I felt Danny's hand tense next to mine.

"Mark is upstairs, legless! You're eating HUMAN meat!" 

"You're scaring the kids, Lee."

"Go upstairs and look! You'll find a guy with both his legs cut off! This is a dairy, not a ranch! Think about it!"

Brenda spoke up. "...It's true."

"Everything coulda turned out okay for you folks," Andy began.

"He woulda died anyway. We gotta think about livin'!"

"Settle down, Danny. Growin' up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's what I was taught and what I taught my boys. Not you got monsters runnin' around that do nothin' but eat people! And for what? To continue to rot until they eat some more! Andy's right. We go after folks who were gonna die anyway."

He paused after swallowing and looked me directly in the eye. "Like y'all." Now I knew what he really meant in our conversation earlier.

"Kenny, get your gun!" 

Andy stood up, pointing his rifle at Lee. Danny had a pistol to my head. I did my best not to tense up or even move. Instead, I kept eating, avoiding the meat still. Everyone started yelling at the brothers, to let them walk away. I wasn't stupid enough to contribute. Sometimes you have to accept your fate, sometimes you have to play along.

Clementine cried out for Lee, and Danny grabbed her by her hair, pulling her back. I kept my hand at my side and the other one going back and forth from the plate to my mouth. No one noticed me.

There was a banging on the stairs, one after the other. Mark dragged himself into the room, begging for help. I looked at Brenda. 

"He's not going to survive like this. He needs help. Let me help him." She looked back at me. "You need him alive or the meat gets tainted, I'm not stupid. You need to let me help him."

"Boys, you know what to do," she said, not breaking eye contact with me.

Andy knocked Lee out, and one by one, everyone was taken out but me.

"My boys have taken a likin' to you."

"I noticed."

"You haven't said anything about the situation here."

"I knew it would come to it eventually."

"Yet you haven't touched the meat on your plate."

"I did say eventually. I don't think I'm there yet. I care about helping people. Let me help Mark." Danny stood behind me as I got up, gun to my back. "You don't have to do that, Danny. I'm not suicidal or stupid. Besides, if you're half as good as your brother, you're not a bad shot. I won't run."

He showed me upstairs and watched from the doorway as I checked on Mark, tending to his shoulder and checking his temperature.

"I don't have a choice. I stay or you kill me, right? Or you kill me anyways."

"You're valuable. You were going to be held back by them. You would have died with them. With us, you'll survive." I didn't respond, instead bending down towards Mark, listening to his chest. I felt it slow.

"Mark, sweetie, can you hear me?" He breathed a little harder. "You would have made it. The arrow isn't what killed you here. I need you to know that." I pushed his hair back, putting my lips against his forehead. "You would have been okay." 

The breathing slowed to a stop and I got up, walking towards Danny. "I wouldn't risk that meat."

Brenda looked out. "Andy? Danny, is that you?"

There was no reply as Lee opened the door. Brenda grabbed me by my hair, putting a gun to my head. 

"Lee, get back! Don't come in here!"

"Let her go, Brenda!"

"Lee! Please, don't you take another step!"

"Brenda, come on now, you know you don't want to do this!' He took a step forward.

"Just go away, and leave us be!" He took another step forward, aiming the gun at Lee. "Stop right there, I mean it!"

"It doesn't have to end like this." He stepped forward again.

"I'm afraid it does, Lee." She pointed the gun back towards me. The gun was pointed at my head. I hit her in the stomach, and a shot rang out. I felt my arm get wet, but didn't feel the pain, though I knew she'd shot me. She backed up as she looked at what she'd done, letting go of me. I stumbled forward into Lee. The gun was pointed at us as she backed up more and more, then, she screamed.

I turned my head and saw Mark, zombified, holding onto her hair, biting her neck. "Lee, we have to go," I said, pushing him towards the door. He turned around as I went into the dining room, grabbing a flannel laid on a chair in the corner of the room. I tore a big strip off, tying it around my arm the best I could. 

I was starting to feel the pain. As soon as I walked outside, I saw it: Lee, staring at Danny, who was on the ground, screaming. Lee's gun was pointed at his head.

"Lee, don't!" I screamed, over the sound of the pouring rain. "Don't kill him!" He lowered his gun a bit. "We can't. We're supposed to help people survive, not kill them!" Lee looked back at him.

"You're not worth the ammo it'd take to kill you."

Everyone was there, the entire group. Adrian had helped me stop the bleeding and get proper bandages on my arm. We were silent as we walked. It was quite a walk when we reached something making noises up ahead. I was in front of the group and noticed it first.

"Kenny," I said. He hushed the rest of the group and we inched forward. There was an open car in front of us. I looked at him.

"We shouldn't take this, you guys. It has to be someone's."

"You see them around? No? Then we're taking it."

Everyone started grabbing out the car, trying to get all of it. It was out of gas, so it was useless for that. There was lots of stuff in it, and Adrian packed both of our bags full. I was too exhausted to think much. It was dark, I had been shot, lost blood, and was just plain tired. I couldn't wait to get back to the motor inn and sleep.

We walked a little further down the road when I had to stop. I had a fever for sure and now my bag was heavy. Kenny stood beside me.

"Rune, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just.. dizzy." I took two more steps and fell as my vision faded. 

Author's Note:

I haven't had any views yet but that's okay! That just means I haven't had any criticism either, so this might completely suck. I hope I get some sort of constructive criticism this time around so I can do better for the next episode! (: 

oONeonStarsOo

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, would love some feedback. Tell me what I'm doing wrong or whatever. I feel this is whole thing is really cringe but that's ok because I'm practicing and writing to get better.  
> Well, I'm already nearly 6 years late to first season so I mean, what's it gonna hurt. :P From now on I'm gonna try to split chapters into episodes. So this is not even part way through S1E2, so the next chapter will be the rest of episode 2, then the next chapter will be the complete episode 3, etc. And just for good measure: I will keep some characters alive longer than they originally were, or kill them off sooner, though I will try to do direct dialogue for the most part. I just felt that Travis has a worthy arc here.


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